It turns out Tepper's still bullish, though a bit more cautious than he was in September. "The economy is so much better now," he said, but "it's not a free ride in this market." He still thinks equities make for strong investments, singling out semiconductor stocks, including Micron (MU), as well as Dean Foods (DF).

"We are at a higher level but pretty darn good," Tepper said. "You can't be too negative, but you can't be uncautious."

Tepper increased his exposure to tech from 3.4% in the quarter ended June 30 to 15.1% in the third quarter, according to GuruFocus.com. Here's a closer look at some of Tepper's largest financial holdings as of his latest 13F filing with the SEC.

7. KLA-Tencor

Tepper initiated a new position in KLA-Tencor (KLAC) in the third quarter, scooping up 637,460 shares, at 0.7% of Appaloosa's total portfolio. As of the close on Sept. 30, 2010, when KLA-Tencor was trading at $35.23, the stock has risen to $42.13 as of Thursday's close, or more than 19% since Tepper's filing.

Stock Overview: KLA-Tencor is a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nanoelectronics industries. With a market cap of about $7 billion, it has traded in a 52-week range of $26.69 to $42.95, hitting that high on Jan. 18. The stock has a short interest ratio of 2.5, yields 2.4% and has a P/E ratio of 20.5.

Analyst Ratings: Of 17 analysts covering the stock, seven rate it a buy, nine rate it a hold, and one rates it a sell. TheStreet Ratings has a B- buy rating on the stock.

Earnings: KLA-Tencor is slated to report earnings on Jan. 27 for the most-recent quarter. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.06 a share in the most recent quarter, compared with 28 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

Yahoo! (YHOO) comprises 1.2% of Tepper's portfolio as Sept. 30. His 2.8 million-share position was a 9.1% decrease from the previous quarter. Yahoo! closed at $14.17 on Sept. 30 and has risen 15.4% since, to close at $16.23 on Thursday.

Stock Overview: Yahoo! is a global Internet brand. It is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. With a market cap of $21.3 billion, it has traded in a 52-week range of $13.14 to $19.12. The stock has a short interest ratio of 4.7 and trades at a P/E ratio of 21.2.

Analyst Ratings: Of 33 analysts covering the stock, 13 rate it a buy, 19 rate it a hold, and one rates it a sell. TheStreet Ratings has a C+ hold rating on the stock.

Earnings: Yahoo! is slated to report earnings on Jan. 25. Analysts expect the company to earn 23 cents a share in the most recent quarter, compared with 11 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

As of Sept. 30, Tepper owns 3.8 million shares of Applied Materials (AMAT), at 1.3% of his total portfolio. Applied Materials was a new buy for Appaloosa in the third quarter. Since its Sept. 30 closing price of $11.68, the stock has gained nearly 30% to close at $15.06 on Thursday.

Stock Overview: Applied Materials provides Nanomanufacturing Technology solutions for the global semiconductor, flat panel display, solar and related industries, with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products. With a market cap of $20.2 billion, it has traded in a 52-week range of $10.27 to $15.35, which it hit on Jan. 18. The stock has a short interest ratio of 2.1, yields 1.8% and trades at a P/E ratio of 21.8.

Analyst Ratings: Of 22 analysts covering the stock, seven rate it a buy, 13 rate it a hold, and two rate it a sell. TheStreet Ratings has a B- buy rating on the stock.

Earnings: Applied Materials is slated to report earnings on Feb. 16. Analysts expect the company to earn 33 cents a share in the most recent quarter, compared with 13 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

Yet another new position for Tepper in the third quarter was ETF Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH), with 1.7 million shares comprising 1.4% of the total portfolio. The fund closed at $27.71 on Sept. 30 and has risen 22.2% since to $33.87 as of Thursday's close.

Stock Overview: The Trust seeks to hold common stock of companies considered to be involved in the semiconductor business. These companies manufacture and market integrated circuitry and other products made from semiconductors, which allow for increased speed and functionality in components for computers and other electronic devices. The fund's top holdings include Texas Instruments (TXN), Intel (INTC) and Applied Materials. It has traded in a 52-week range of $24.14 to $34.64, which it hit on Jan. 18.

Tepper increased his holdings in Microsoft (MSFT) by more than 17% in the third quarter, to 2.8 million shares. The stock comprises 2.1% of his total portfolio as of Sept. 30. Since its Sept. 30 close of $24.49, the stock has gained 15.8% to $28.35 as of Thursday's close.

Stock Overview: Microsoft is engaged in developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting a range of software products and services for different types of computing devices. With a market cap of $243.6 billion, it has traded in a 52-week range of $22.73 to $31.58. The stock has a short interest ratio of 1.8, yields 2.2% and trades at a P/E ratio of 12.3.

Analyst Ratings: Of 31 analysts covering the stock, 22 rate it a buy, and nine rate it a hold. TheStreet Ratings has a B buy rating on the stock.

Earnings: Microsoft is slated to report earnings on Jan. 27 for the most-recent quarter. Analysts expect the company to earn 68 cents a share in the most recent quarter, compared with 74 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

Tepper also initiated a position in Cisco (CSCO) in the third quarter, picking up 6 million shares, for 3.9% exposure to the stock. Cisco closed at $21.90 on Sept. 30 and has since slid 5.2% to $20.77 as of Thursday's close.

Stock Overview: Cisco Systems designs, manufactures and sells Internet Protocol-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry and provides services associated with these products and their use. With a market cap of $115.4 billion, has traded in a 52-week range of $19 to $27.74. The stock has a short interest ratio of 0.6 and trades at a P/E ratio of 15.2.

Analyst Ratings: Of 37 analysts covering the stock, 27 rate it a buy, nine rate it a hold, and one rates it a sell. TheStreet Ratings has a B- buy rating on the stock.

Earnings: Cisco is slated to report earnings on Feb. 9 for the most-recent quarter. Analysts expect the company to earn 30 cents a share in the most recent quarter, compared with 35 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

Tepper's top financial holding is Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), another position he added in the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, he holds 3.7 million shares of the stock, comprising 4.7% of Appaloosa's total portfolio. HP has risen from $42.07 as of the Sept. 30 close to $46.78, or 11.2% since Tepper's filing.

Stock Overview: Hewlett-Packard is a global provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. With a market cap of $101.5 billion, it has traded in a 52-week range of $37.32 to $54/75. The stock has a short interest ratio of 1.3, yields 0.7% and trades at a P/E ratio of 12.6.

Analyst Ratings: Of 34 analysts covering the stock, 28 rate it a buy, five rate it a hold, and one rates it a sell. TheStreet Ratings has a B buy rating on the stock.

Earnings: HP is slated to report earnings on Feb. 22 for the most-recent quarter. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.28 a share in the most recent quarter, compared with $1.07 a share in the year-ago quarter.